Bundesliga sides through in Cup first round, Gladbach hit eight

Berlin (dpa) – All eight Bundesliga sides playing on Saturday navigated their way into the German Cup second round, with Borussia Moenchengladbach thumping fourth tier Oberneuland 8-0.

Eintracht Frankfurt beat 1860 Munich 2-1, RB Leipzig won 3-0 at Nuremberg, Wolfsburg defeated Fuerstenwalde 4-1, Augsburg dominated Eintracht Celle 7-0 and Cologne beat Altglienicke 6-0. Union Berlin were taken to extra-time by second division Karlsruhe but won 1-0 thanks to Nico Schlotterbeck’s fine goal two minutes from the end.

Josh Sargent and on-loan Manchester United man Tahith Chong
helped Werder Bremen win 2-0 at fourth tier Carl Zeiss Jena, the 1981 European Cup Winners’ Cup runners-up, in the late game.

Fourth tier Ulm beat second tier Erzgebirge Aue 2-0 in a minor shock. Fortuna Dusseldorf, relegated from the Bundesliga last term, edged third division Ingolstadt 1-0.

Second division Bochum won 3-0 against Engers, and another second-tier side, Greuther Fuerth, needed extra-time to beat fifth tier Meinerzhagen 6-1.

Amateurs Todesfelde, which translates as Deathfields, had an almost full stadium and fans without masks sat next to each other. They pushed second division Osnabrueck hard before losing 1-0.

Top flight Hertha Berlin crashed out on Friday, with a raft of games due Sunday and Monday. Holders Bayern Munich do not play Dueren until October 15 and one game has been postponed.

Oberneuland, who hail from Bremen, were among the lower league sides who gave away their automatic home advantage under German Cup rules to play the game in Moenchengladbach. The coronavirus crisis meant several teams could not gain income from fans so opted to switch venues and spend a rare afternoon playing at a top stadium.

A sprinkling of fans were allowed at some games on the first weekend of competitive action in the new season. Different local health authorities have agreed varied Covid-19 rules with clubs.

Gladbach coach Marco Rose was suspended but it didn’t matter as his side warmed up perfectly for the Bundesliga start next weekend.

Two-goal Patrick Herrmann told reporters: “It was a successful start to the season. We were focused from the very first minute, demonstrated our enthusiasm and created a lot of chances to score.”

Herrmann slid in Gladbach’s opener on 13 minutes, despite a hint of offside in the build-up but with no video assistant referee on hand.

He doubled the advantage moments later with an emphatic finish before Jonas Hofmann scored on the overlap. A thumping strike from Ramy
Bensebaini made it 4-0 midway through the first half.

Nico Elvedi nodded in from a free-kick and Florian Neuhaus netted the sixth after the break. Ibrahima Traore and Neuhaus added the gloss.

Eastern Germans Fuerstenwalde took the lead through Darryl Geurts’
penalty against Wolfsburg but Joao Victor levelled with a scruffy goal. The Brazilian soon scored his second with a tap-in as the Wolves quickly turned the game around.

Eintracht Frankfurt eventually broke through at 1860 Munich after Bas Dost’s lay-off gave Andre Silva an easy goal. The pair switched roles minutes later for 2-0 before Phillipp Steinhart pulled one back.

Amadou Haidara’s early strike put RB Leipzig in front against second tier Nuremberg and they secured the win with two second-half goals.

Cologne were struggling against Berliners Altglienicke until Jonas Hector converted a spotkick on 17 minutes and they never looked back.

Bayern were given extra time to prepare for the season after winning the coronavirus-delayed Champions League just three weeks ago.

On Friday, Hertha lost 5-4 at second division Eintracht Braunschweig but fellow Bundesliga side Mainz beat fourth tier Havelse 5-1.

Schalke’s tie against Schweinfurt was postponed after Tuerkguecue Munich argued in court they should be Bavaria’s amateur nominee.

Freiburg’s clash at Waldhof Mannheim, also due Sunday, is set to take place despite Mannheim announcing two positive coronavirus tests.